Chapter 15

Yi Bao widened his eyes, “Mother, what are you going to exchange with Little Shan ge?” His little mind couldn’t grasp it; he didn’t understand what his mother was up to.

Ning Shu patiently explained to him, “You can exchange chestnuts for eggs, or you can exchange them for the pears or apples we’ll give you today. Pears are the fruits you eat at noon… So, if you manage to do this, I’ll give you a pear or apple as a reward, and you can choose which one you want.”

“Mother, can I exchange the chestnuts I picked for the pears we eat at noon?” Er Bao hurriedly asked. He hadn’t tasted apples yet, not knowing their taste, but the pears they ate at noon were delicious. He licked the juice off his hands clean.

“Really?” Yi Bao couldn’t believe it. His mother was going to exchange those delicious pears for chestnuts.

Was his mother being silly?

Of course, although Yi Bao thought so, he didn’t dare to ask if his mother was silly. If his mother really was silly, that would be fine.

Compared to the mother who used to only think about herself, the mother who would give them meat and fruits to eat today was better, so he also hoped his mother was being silly.

“Really,” Ning Shu assured Yi Bao, “I’ll keep my word.”

“Then… I’ll go ask.” Yi Bao didn’t know if his mother would keep her word, but thinking that if he succeeded, he could share a fruit with Er Bao and San Bao, he decided to give it a try. “Er Bao, you watch San Bao, I’ll go find Little Shan ge.” With that, he bounced away.

“Hey, brother, hurry up.” Er Bao was still worried that his brother was running too slowly, urging him. However, he remembered that his mother hadn’t answered his question yet, “Mother, you haven’t said if the chestnuts I picked can be exchanged for the pears we eat at noon?”

“Yes, they can.” Ning Shu naturally wouldn’t refuse; she didn’t mind having more chestnuts. “So, can one jin of chestnuts be exchanged for one pear?”

Er Bao’s eyes lit up at the mention of a pear. But how much was one jin of chestnuts? Even Er Bao, who didn’t even have a kindergarten diploma, furrowed his brows, unable to immediately agree. “I have to ask my brother.” Brother said to find him if there was something.

Ning Shu looked at his furrowed brow and smiled gently, “Alright, wait for Yi Bao to come back and ask him.”

Yi Bao ran to Lin Xiaoshan’s house. His elders had just finished work and hadn’t eaten dinner yet. Yi Bao didn’t go inside but shouted at the door, “Little Shan ge… Little Shan ge…”

Children in the countryside often visited each other, usually shouting at the yard gate, so Lin Xiaoshan’s family didn’t pay much attention.

Lin Xiaoshan came out from the house and saw Yi Bao. He ran over and asked with a smile, “Yi Bao, what do you need?”

Yi Bao asked Lin Xiaoshan to bend down, and he whispered in his ear, “Little Shan ge, my mother wants to exchange eggs, pears, or apples for the chestnuts you picked today. Are you willing to exchange?”

Lin Xiaoshan was stunned, then he pulled Yi Bao away from the house. “Yi Bao, are you telling the truth?” Even though they were far from the house, he spoke softly to prevent others from hearing.

If Yi Bao’s mother really wanted to exchange eggs for chestnuts, it would be even more important not to let others know.

This way, he could pick more chestnuts, exchange them for more eggs, and then provide for his younger brother and mother.

“My mother said it’s true. But…” Yi Bao hesitated, “I’m not sure if my mother will keep her word.” He felt embarrassed, but what could he do? His mother was so unreliable.

Lin Xiaoshan knew a bit about Yi Bao’s mother’s character; after all, they were from the same village, and people often discussed Yi Bao’s mother. They said she only cared about herself, wearing new clothes and eating meat, without caring for Yi Bao and the others. But Lin Xiaoshan didn’t dwell on these thoughts. Right now, he only wanted to exchange chestnuts for eggs. “Then I’ll go to your house and ask your mother.”

“Oh, my mother just called you over,” Yi Bao said.

“Then let’s go,” Lin Xiaoshan said urgently.

Qinglin Bay Production Brigade wasn’t big. Although it was considered large compared to nearby villages, it only took five or six minutes to run from one end of the village to the other.

So Lin Xiaoshan and Yi Bao quickly arrived at the Lin family’s house, with Yi Bao lagging behind, panting heavily.

Inside the Lin household, Ning Shu watched Er Bao and San Bao playing. San Bao sat on the bedsheet they used during the day, playing with chestnuts with Er Bao. Er Bao threw a chestnut towards San Bao, who crawled over to pick it up, then threw it back to Er Bao.

The two brothers tossed the chestnut back and forth, finding amusement in this simple game.

Watching them, Ning Shu sighed inwardly, reminiscing about the carefree days of childhood.

The original owner didn’t know Xiaoshan, or perhaps she might have seen the child on the village road but didn’t remember him.

Now, seeing Lin Xiaoshan and Yi Bao arrive one after the other, Ning Shu guessed that this little boy must be Xiaoshan.

“Mother, Little Shan ge is here. Will you keep your promise to give me the fruit?” Yi Bao asked, panting for breath. He was eager to see take the fruit and share with his brother.

“Of course, I’ll keep my promise. There are pears and apples in the kitchen sack. You can choose one yourself,” Ning Shu replied readily.

“And what about mine…” Er Bao remembered his chestnuts, “Brother, Mom said one jin of chestnuts for one pear. How much is one jin? Can I exchange?”

Yi Bao: “… ” His little face flushed, feeling awkward as he grabbed his pants. He didn’t know how many chestnuts were in one jin, what should he do? So, he looked at Lin Xiaoshan, “Little Shan ge, do you know how much one jin of chestnuts is?”

Lin Xiaoshan also felt awkward, “I don’t know how much one jin of chestnuts is. We’ll have to weigh them.

Yi Bao had a plan in mind, “Mother, can I weigh one jin of chestnuts first to see how many there are?” Since there wasn’t a scale at home, he planned to ask Grandma later.

Ning Shu looked at the little guy’s logical approach and thought he was really clever. “Sure, then you can choose your fruit first.”

“Okay.” Yi Bao ran into the kitchen to get the fruit.

At the door, Lin Xiaoshan felt a bit embarrassed and asked nervously, “Auntie, is it true what Yi Bao said about exchanging eggs for my chestnuts?”

Ning Shu nodded, “It’s true. Come inside, and we’ll talk about it.”

“Okay.”

Ning Shu led Lin Xiaoshan to the kitchen. Yi Bao happened to come out holding a pear, his heart pounding.

Just now, he had sneakily seen many things in the sack: several small rice dumplings and some long, white things that looked like mantou but weren’t.

Since rice was precious and scarce in this era, many families couldn’t afford to use it to make rice cakes.

Apart from that, Yi Bao also saw pears and apples. There weren’t many pears left, but there were plenty of apples. Yi Bao hadn’t gone to school yet, so he couldn’t count, but he knew there were a lot.

When Yi Bao picked up the pear, he couldn’t help but salivate. He hadn’t eaten apples before, but with so many of them together, the scent kept wafting out, and he could smell it.

Seeing his mother and Little Shan ge coming, Yi Bao showed the pear to his mother, “Mother, I got one.” He dared not take more, knowing his mother would scold him even for taking a small piece of meat before. So, he wouldn’t dare take more pears.

Ning Shu nodded, then turned to Lin Xiaoshan, “Xiaoshan, I want to collect chestnuts, but they need to be peeled chestnuts. I want to make that clear.” Otherwise, she would be exhausted from peeling them herself.

“No problem, Auntie. I can peel them. I know how to do that,” Lin Xiaoshan replied confidently. Peeling chestnuts was the most basic skill everyone in the countryside knew how to do.

“Alright, and regarding exchanging chestnuts for things, it’s based on weight. One jin of chestnuts can be exchanged for…” Ning Shu paused for a moment, regardless of how much she could sell the chestnuts for, here, chestnuts were not as valuable as apples and pears, and eggs were even less valuable. So, asking for more exchanges was impossible. “One jin of chestnuts can be exchanged for one egg, or one apple, or one pear.”

“I want eggs.” Lin Xiaoshan chose without hesitation. He had never eaten apples or pears, but he knew eggs could nourish the body. “Auntie, can one jin of chestnuts really be exchanged for one egg?”

“Yes, it can. I keep my promises. We’ll exchange on the spot. If I don’t give you the egg, you don’t need to give me the chestnuts. That way, you can rest assured, right?” Ning Shu thought, was her credibility so poor? Neither the two Brothers nor Lin Xiaoshan trusted her.

Actually, Lin Xiaoshan didn’t distrust her; he just couldn’t believe such a good thing. But when Ning Shu mentioned exchanging on the spot, he felt reassured.

However… he hesitated for a moment and decided to take a risk, “Auntie, can you keep this exchange of chestnuts for eggs a secret? I just want to use the eggs to nourish my younger brother and mother. I don’t want to take them home. If I take them home, Grandma will definitely share them with others, and they might not get any.”

“Sure, you can count on me.” Thinking about Lin Xiaoshan possibly being her stable partner in the future, and the wild vegetables and bamboo shoots waiting for him to pick, Ning Shu was willing to provide other assistance very amicably. “If you don’t have a place to boil the eggs, I can boil them for you and exchange them for boiled eggs.”

“Thank you, Auntie.” Lin Xiaoshan felt that what others said was wrong; Yi Bao’s mother was really nice.

“Then I’ll have boiled eggs. Auntie, the chestnuts I picked today are still on the mountain. I’ll go get them now… But they still have shells on them. It might take a bit longer after I peel them.”

“It’s okay, I don’t go to bed that early.” Ning Shu smiled. As long as she could earn money, even if it was midnight, she could wait.

“Thank you, Auntie. I’ll go home for dinner first.” Lin Xiaoshan’s face lit up with a brilliant smile. He would go home after dinner to peel the chestnuts, anyway, his family wouldn’t mind.

“Take care.” Ning Shu escorted him to the door.

Yi Bao, who had watched the whole process, said, “… Mother, does that mean Er Bao and I can exchange chestnuts for eggs too?” If they could exchange for eggs, then he, Er Bao, and San Bao could all eat eggs.

When they saw Zhuang Xiaopang, they could tell him they were also eating eggs!